Distracted Faith

We hope you can make plans to join us tomorrow morning for Sunday School at 9:30 and Worship Service at 10:30!

Satan has an abundance of tools in his arsenal to attack us. Lies & deception, confusion & assumptions, miscommunications & misunderstandings are just some of the ways that we can veer off the path that God has in mind for us.

God warned us, through His servant Paul, that the days would come when these attacks on our hearts and minds would need to be met with resistance lest we succumb to temptations and our faith falters. He writes in 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

Paul warns us here that while it’s possible to be led astray, when we remain devoted to Christ we can prevail. Satan tries to lead us away by introducing distractions into our lives that can detract from a life that was once devoted. Instead, we devote our lives to things that are less important & less valuable. We chase after things that take up what little time we have for prayer, for communion with God and the saints, and for study. Thus we are less prepared to face the challenges of life, when life presents us with choices of who to follow, who to trust, and who we are devoted to.

God is now preparing us for the days ahead when we will have to choose between those who will go with us to the feet of Jesus, and those who chase after self-indulgence, self-service, pride, and pleasure. Some might even teach and preach that these are the things God wants for us. If we read along in the same chapter just a few verses down, such a warning: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (14)

Do not be deceived any longer! Know that Christ loves you and longs to share with you the blessings of eternal life. Satan’s lies tell us just what we want to hear so that we can go on living without change. The problem with that way of thinking is that it leads to a living without hope: an empty future, full of lies and death. “So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (15).

Don’t believe the lies. Come home and be with Jesus.

Adding to Faith: Knowledge Defeating Temptation

 Use the link below @ 6:30 to join us for our Mid-Week Bible Study tonight!

The Spirit Convicts

This image might be a little jarring at first, but we have to remember our place and our role.

We have the light in us, we are not the light. Jesus saves, not me. So our role is on that shows love and teaches truth, but it is the role of the Spirit of God to convict.  To convict means that we need to have faith that God will work in others just has he worked in me. We need to have faith that God is patient with others just as he has been patient with me.  We may not know the full impact of our interactions with others right away. We must be careful not to pass judgement too quickly.   It is our role to share the Gospel, and the Spirit convicts. John puts it this way: “When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (ESV).

Our prayer is for the Spirit to be working in the lives and hearts of the lost, that they can reach a point of conviction, and now convicted of sin they can find faith, hope, and love in Christ.